


Spark a Flame in Me

by shions_heart



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (it's just mentioned but is a catalyst), Aged-Up Character(s), Comfort/Angst, Firefighter Kuroo, First Crush, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, like only a tiny bit of angst, minor character injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-05 22:47:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6726457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shions_heart/pseuds/shions_heart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kozume Kenma's never had a crush before. He's never come across anyone he's drawn to in that way. </p><p>That is until he officially meets his next-door neighbor, a friendly firefighter named Kuroo Tetsurou.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spark a Flame in Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Faiyuuhi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faiyuuhi/gifts).



> Happy Birthday, Fai Fai! You gifted us with the wonder that is [Firefighter Kuroo](https://twitter.com/faiyuuhi/status/711022016527208448), so I thought I'd return the favor. ;)

Kozume Kenma didn't really care much to know about his neighbors until he met Kuroo Tetsurou. It happened quite on accident. His roommate, Haiba Lev, started a small fire while trying to cook dinner, and the fire alarm didn't go off ("You need to change the batteries?" Lev said blankly when asked). Kenma was in his room playing a game, when he heard the front door burst open and Lev shouting.

When he stepped into the kitchen to see what was going on, he found Lev standing to the side, looking ashamed, and a very unfamiliar, very attractive man putting out the fire. He was in jeans and a tight black t-shirt, tall with a bed-head of thick black hair. Kenma froze, very aware that he was only in a pair of apple-patterned boxers and a ratty sleeveless shirt.

"I saw the smoke coming from your patio doors," the man said, turning to give Kenma a crooked grin. His golden eyes were dark, but they shone with amusement as they looked at him. "I work with the Tokyo Fire Department, so I came over to check it out. Kuroo Tetsurou."

He held out his hand, but Kenma, his heart racing, turned immediately and fled.

"That's Kenma," he heard Lev say just before he slammed his door shut. "He's kind of shy."

Kenma hoped he'd never see the man again, but a mere two days later, he stepped out of the kitchen to hang some laundry on the clothes line on the patio and saw him, Kuroo Tetsurou, lounging against the railing of his own patio balcony directly to the side of him. Kuroo saw him and grinned, lifting his free hand in a wave, the other hand holding a mug of coffee or tea.

"Hey, neighbor," he said. "No fires today, I hope!"

Kenma spun around and walked back inside, shoving the laundry basket at Lev as he passed him. His face burned, as Lev fumbled with it and called after him, but Kenma didn't respond. He simply went to his room and shut the door.

He began to grow wary of stepping outside. He wasn't sure why Kuroo unnerved him so much. All he knew was that his heart raced and his cheeks flushed in a way that was wholly unfamiliar to him. When he brought this up to Yaku Morisuke, a mutual friend of his and Lev's, the shorter man gave him a slow grin.

"You're attracted to him, that's all," he said. "You have a crush."

"What? No." Kenma immediately shook his head. He's never had a crush on anyone in his life. He much rather play his games than enter into a relationship with anyone, and he never felt the need to have a significant other when he got along fine by himself (even if he did sometimes forget to eat). He likes being alone, and even though Lev can be irritating, he staves off the loneliness just fine with his enthusiasm and obvious affection.

One day, a week after the kitchen incident, as he's coming home from work (a coffee shop that he neither likes nor dislikes), he spots Kuroo leaving his own apartment. He turns just as Kenma steps up to his door, sliding his keys into his pocket. He looks startled, and this time his grin is softer than it was before. Kenma clutches his backpack, and his keys, trying to keep his eyes on Kuroo's face. (Does he wear such tight shirts on purpose?)

"Hey . . . it's Kenma, right? Look, I didn't mean to startle you that day in your kitchen. Or . . . that time on the balcony. I know I can look kind of intimidating, but I'm not a bad guy, I promise. You don't have to be nervous."

Kenma feels his cheeks warming, and he ducks his head, allowing his hair to fall forward to hide his face. He wants to protest and say he's not nervous, but he knows his actions as of late betray him.

"Can I make it up to you?" Kuroo asks then, which catches Kenma's interest. He peers up at Kuroo through his hair, watching as the man shifts slightly on his feet, biting his lip briefly. "Let me buy you a coffee, or something."

Kenma blinks. "A coffee." Is he asking him out on a date? What is this?

Kuroo grins. "Hey, he speaks!"

Kenma frowns, and Kuroo quickly wipes the grin off his face. "I mean, it doesn't have to be a coffee. I could give you a tour of the department, or a front row seat to the New Years Eve demonstration." At Kenma's blank stare, he continues more tentatively. "Unless . . . that doesn't interest you?"

He's obviously trying hard to make things right, and Kenma feels somewhat bad leaving him floundering. He decides to be nice and throw him a bone. It's the least he can do for acting so rude for no apparent reason. And the man _did_ save their kitchen, after all.

"I work at a coffee shop. Building 10 in Block 5. Sunshine Café."

Kuroo snickers. "I bet working there's ironic for you, considering you—"

Kenma stares at him, and Kuroo cuts himself off with an awkward cough. "Uh, right. Okay. So . . . no coffee?"

Kenma turns toward his apartment door, setting the key inside the lock and turning it. "You can buy me lunch."

He steps inside his apartment before Kuroo can respond, his heart pounding away a mile a minute. He skirts around Lev when he tries to pick him up in a welcome home hug, making a beeline for his room where he promptly shuts the door and throws himself face down on the bed to bury his burning face in his pillow.

Thus begins a strange sort of routine. Kenma's not entirely sure how it morphed into one, but every so often Kuroo will come to his work place and take him to lunch. They'll sit at a sandwich shop down the street for the thirty minutes Kenma has and talk about various things. Mostly Kuroo talks, about his job, his life outside of the department (which apparently mainly consists of eating, sleeping, and playing volleyball with the local neighborhood association). He'll prod Kenma for details about himself, but Kenma's more content to listen to Kuroo. His voice is nice, and the animated way he talks is engaging, charismatic. Kenma sneaks frequently glances through his hair, as he eats.

It's only when he mentions the new Fire Emblem game that Kenma inadvertently squeaks in excitement, drawing Kuroo's attention to the topic of games. Kenma tries to maintain his calm exterior, but he can't help but go off on all the new features of the Fire Emblem game and his favorite characters. Then it's Kuroo's turn to watch him, elbow on the table, chin in his hand, smiling in an almost fond way until Kenma realizes how much he's talked and purses his lips.

"You don't have to stop," Kuroo insists. "I like listening to you talk."

That just makes Kenma flush and tighten his lips further. Kuroo takes this good-naturedly though, with a soft laugh, and pays the bill before walking him back.

"So," Yaku says one day a few months after this routine started. "When are you going to introduce me to your boyfriend?"

Kenma startles in surprise. "He's not my boyfriend."

"I'm pretty sure him taking you out to eat several times a week qualifies as dating."

Kenma shakes his head vigorously. "It's just thirty minutes. We always go to the same place. It's not dating."

Yaku considers him a moment before shrugging. "If you say so."

He changes the subject, but the words stick with Kenma until he blurts out one afternoon,

"This isn't dating."

Kuroo pauses, tilting his head, as he looks back at Kenma. "I wasn't assuming that it was," he says slowly.

Kenma breathes a quiet sigh of relief before he hears Kuroo speak again and he stiffens.

"Do you want it to be dating?"

"I don't know," Kenma admits, the honesty leaving him before he can think better of it. The truth is he likes Kuroo. He enjoys spending time with him, looking at him, listening to his voice. He likes knowing that there's someone next door who'd rush over to save him in the event of another accident. It makes him feel safe, even while living with a walking disaster like Lev. And sometimes . . . he finds himself distracted from his games, wondering what it'd be like to lay across Kuroo's lap to play, if Kuroo would play with his hair, massage his feet, stroke his hand slowly along his calves and shins.

Sometimes, he even sets his game aside completely to stare at the wall and wonder what it'd be like to kiss Kuroo.

It's unnerving, and it gives him a warm, squirming feeling in his stomach that he isn't sure he likes, but it's not unpleasant.

"You don't have to decide right now," Kuroo says, waving for the bill. "But just know that I wouldn't be opposed to doing more than just grabbing lunch every so often." He grins faintly. "I'd actually really like that."

Kenma quickly stuffs the rest of his food into his mouth and doesn't reply.

 

 

 

 

It's a mere two weeks later when Kenma's woken by a rapid knock on the door a couple hours past midnight. Knowing from experience that Lev can sleep through an earthquake, Kenma forces himself out of bed and pads through the living room to the front of the apartment. Opening the door, he blinks blearily up at Kuroo, who stands on the threshold with wilted hair dripping water and damp skin. It hasn't been raining, so Kenma can only assume he came straight from the fire station after taking a shower there. He feels a weird sense of déjà vu, before he realizes he's wearing the same outfit he was when he first saw Kuroo.

Strangely, this time he's not embarrassed by the apple-pattern boxers or ratty sleeveless shirt. Instead, he's more concerned with the strange expression on Kuroo's face. It looks like he's holding back tears. Kenma's never seen that look before. Kuroo's always smiling, or on the verge of it, his eyes bright and full of life. Now they seem dull, muted, and he gazes down at Kenma with blank stare. The line of his jaw tightens for a moment, before he sighs, and his shoulders sag. He reaches up to rub the back of his neck, looking away.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't . . . I didn't mean to wake you. I just . . . don't exactly have anyone else to go to right now."

Kenma takes a step back, wordlessly opening the door further to give Kuroo space to come inside. It takes Kuroo a moment to realize what's being offered before he steps tentatively into the apartment. Kenma closes the door and then takes Kuroo's hand. It's the first contact they've had, and he doesn't miss the way Kuroo twitches at the gesture. He guides him over to the couch, releasing him then. As Kuroo collapses with a weary sigh, Kenma sits delicately in the corner, drawing his knees up to his chest and watching Kuroo silently.

Kuroo musses his hair for a moment, before moving his hand down to rub his neck again. He stares off at the wall, and the silence drags on for another few minutes before he speaks.

"There was a fire tonight. It was a residential area, apartment building." Kuroo's voice is hoarse, strained. Kenma bites his lip, inching slightly closer. "By the time we got there, the fire was already out of control. A lot of people made it outside soon after the alarm went off, but there were some still stuck inside. Me and a few others went in and we got them out, but . . . as soon as we finished this kid starts crying, saying his cat's still in there. By this time the building's coming down. We're hosing it as best we can, but the walls are crumbling. There's no way it's safe to go inside. But my buddy Kai . . . he goes running back in there to save this damn cat. I yelled at him to leave it, but he just . . ."

Kuroo sighs, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, pressing his palms into his eyes. "This beam fell on him, crushed his legs. We got him out but . . . he's in really bad shape. I don't know if he'll ever walk again."

Kenma exhales shakily. So it wasn't as bad as he feared, but judging from Kuroo's posture and the crack in his voice, it might as well have been. He hesitates, not sure what to do or say. He's not good at comforting people, he never has been. Lev often complains about it, saying Kenma could stand to be nicer.

"But he's alive, right?" he asks after a moment.

Kuroo shudders, lifting his head. "Well, yeah, but . . . he's going to have to live with a permanent disability and it's my fault. If I'd gone in instead—"

"Then _you_ could've been the one without legs," Kenma said flatly. "And your friend would be the one beating himself over it. If he's really your friend, then he cares about you. And he wouldn't want you to blame yourself or wish it was you." He shakes his head. "Accidents happen on the job, right?"

Kuroo hesitates. "Yeah, but—"

"He knew the risks." Kenma wonders if he's being too harsh, but he can't stand to see Kuroo like this, all hunched over and curled into himself like a wounded animal. Shoving away his self-consciousness, he crawls forward, grabbing Kuroo's shoulder and pushing on it until Kuroo straightens. Then, Kenma swings his leg over Kuroo's lap, settling down on his thighs and setting both hands on either of Kuroo's shoulders. Kuroo looks startled, and his hands hover awkwardly in the air.

"Kenma?"

"You're a good man, and a good firefighter," Kenma says firmly, curling his fingers into the material of Kuroo's shirt. He meets his gaze directly, hoping that all this will help the words sink into Kuroo's brain. "You did your best and you saved all those people. You _saved_ them. That's incredible. You . . ." Kenma can't hold his gaze now, as the self-consciousness begins to creep back into him. He lowers his gaze to the rise and fall of Kuroo's chest.

Slowly, he lowers one hand, resting it over Kuroo's heart. It's beating rapidly, nearly matching the quick pace of his own heart. "You're incredible," he murmurs softly.

His cheeks feel hot, and when Kuroo moves his hand to carefully brush back his hair behind his ear, exposing his face, that heat spreads through his entire body. He grips the front of Kuroo's shirt, trying to regulate his breathing. They've never been this close before.

"I could say the same about you, you know," Kuroo says quietly.

Kenma quickly shakes his head. He doesn't do anything incredible. He plays games and works at a coffee shop. He makes dinner sometimes and does laundry. He doesn't even try to rein in Lev, but usually leaves that work to Yaku.

Kuroo offers him that crooked grin. "You let me come in here out of the blue in the middle of the night. You let me take you out to lunch, spend time with you. I can tell you're not a social person. You seem uncomfortable interacting with people, but you let me into your inner circle despite that. You became my friend, even though you were nervous. And it . . . it means a lot to me. I've never . . . I've been kind of lonely lately, but with you . . . I'm happy. You make me happy, Kenma. And that's pretty incredible."

Kenma's pretty sure he wants to crawl under the rug and die. Or something. He resists the urge to bury his face in his hands, staring fixedly at his hand over Kuroo's heart.

"Shut up," he mutters, not sure what else to say.

Kuroo laughs softly, wrapping his arms around him then in a firm hug. Kenma stiffens at first, but it doesn't take long before he's relaxing into it, resting his head against Kuroo's gently and closing his eyes.

"Thank you for your words," Kuroo says, tightening his grip briefly. "You're right. Kai wouldn't want me to blame myself. He'll come back from this. And I can still be there for him to help him through it."

Kenma nods, glad Kuroo's understands now. He feels no urgency to pull away from the hug, feeling warm and safe in Kuroo's arms. It's strange, since he usually shies from such physical contact, but then again he's never quite felt normal around Kuroo.

"We can date," he finds himself saying, before he can think better of it. He bites his lip, realizing this might not be the best time, but when Kuroo pulls back to look at him, he doesn't seem offended.

"Are you sure?" he asks quietly, and the hopefulness in his eyes makes Kenma's stomach fluttery.

Kenma nods, shifting his gaze away. "I don't like crowded places," he says. "And I don't like sports. And I don't like being outside when it's too hot. Or too cold. And I don't—"

Kuroo laughs, setting his finger on Kenma's lips. Kenma freezes, lifting his eyes to look at Kuroo, who grins back at him.

"Why don't we just start with dinner and a movie?" he asks, moving his finger away.

Kenma wrinkles his nose. It seems cliché, but going to small restaurant and a quiet theater sounds kind of nice, if he's with Kuroo.

"Okay," he agrees, nodding.

Kuroo leans forward slightly, before pausing. His hands come to rest gently on Kenma's hips. "Can I kiss you?" he asks then, hesitantly.

Kenma's face burns. "Already?"

Kuroo smiles sheepishly. "I've kind of wanted to ever since I first took you to lunch."

That doesn't help Kenma's overheating problem, but after a brief moment of consideration, he nods. Besides, it's not like he can deny wanting it after all those weird daydreams.

He's not sure what to expect, never having been kissed before, but Kuroo moves slowly, carefully. He lifts one hand to thread his fingers gently through Kenma's hair, cradling the side of his face in his palm. He leans forward then and kisses him gently, a soft brush of lips on lips. Kenma shivers, pressing back tentatively. Kuroo murmurs an indistinguishable sound, his lips moving lightly. Kenma parts his own in response, just slightly, but Kuroo maneuvers so that their mouths slot together perfectly.

Kenma tightens his grip on Kuroo's shirt, his heart pounding wildly, thudding in his ears. Kuroo's hand moves from his hip to the small of his back, pushing just enough to shift Kenma closer to him. Kenma inhales sharply through his nose but allows the movement. They part lips but only for a second before they're connected again, and this time the kiss is hungry, eager. Kenma feels heat burning low inside him, his skin prickling. He lifts his free hand, running his fingers into the mess of Kuroo's hair to grip it firmly.

Kuroo groans softly, and his hand at Kenma's back starts to creep beneath the hem of his shirt, warm, calloused fingers spreading across sensitive skin. Kenma gasps, unable to help it, his face burning.

"Kenma? What are you doing?" a sleepy voice breaks through the haze, and Kenma jerks back, lifting his head to stare over the back of the couch at Lev, who stands between them and his room, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

 _Now_ he wakes up?

"Go back to bed, Lev," he says, as firmly as he can, though it's difficult considering how he's struggling to pull air into his lungs.

Lev's eyes widen, as he notices the second person on the couch. "Kuroo-san!" He pauses then, tilting his head in confusion. "But Yaku-san said you weren't dating."

Kenma scrambles off Kuroo's lap, glad they hadn't gotten so far as to leave any embarrassing signs of arousal. "Bed, Lev." He points to Lev's room, as though directing a dog.

Lev grins. "I want the whole story later!" he sings, waving at Kuroo before turning and walking back into his room.

Kenma waits until his door is closed before dropping his face into his hands. Kuroo laughs quietly, moving to stand. "It's late," he says. "I should let you get back to bed too."

He bends to kiss the top of Kenma's head. "Thank you. For . . . everything."

Kenma doesn't know what to say, so he simply stands there, face still buried, flushed from head to toe. He feels Kuroo move past him, though, and he knows he can't let him leave like that. He turns quickly, grabbing the edge of Kuroo's shirt before he can get far. Kuroo pauses, turning to look down at him with a curious look.

Kenma turns his gaze away quickly. "Pick me up Friday at six," he murmurs. "I like action movies."

Kuroo takes his hand, prying his fingers away from his shirt. He lifts it then and places a tiny kiss against the back of it. Kenma swiftly snatches it away, wondering why Kuroo has to be so embarrassing. It's not that he truly _minds_ ; it's just, well, embarrassing.

Kuroo laughs. "I'll be looking forward to it." He reaches up and tugs gently on the ends of Kenma's hair, before turning and heading out the door, closing it carefully behind him.

Kenma hugs his arms close to his chest, his heart stuttering at the prospect of the date.

He probably, actually, does have a crush on Kuroo, he realizes.

With that final thought, he turns and flees to his room to bury his face in his pillow.

**Author's Note:**

> http://shions-heart.tumblr.com/


End file.
